Big Ben Blades

[CrazedFandango]

I've used a Big Ben Blade for 4 shaves now, having received them as part of a sample pack, so thought I'd post my experience; take this with the knowledge that this is only the 2nd DE blade I have ever used.

My 1st shave with this blade and a new-to-me Gillette Tech, I found to be disappointing; smooth but too mild and wishing I'd tried them in my aggressive OC Gillette. For the 2nd shave, I thought I'd add a shim and this really made a difference; now the shave was acceptable and still smooth. The 3rd shave was the same, but I can tell on the 4th shave that the edge is beginning the fade, it may survive one more outing, but that'll be it.

Keep in mind that these are on the budget end of the scale, so expecting them to be as good as blades twice the price is unrealistic, but for a cheap blade which is capable of an effective, if reasonably mild, smooth shave, you could probably do much worse. Paired with an aggressive razor, I suspect it'll produce decent results.

 

[pjgh]

What I like about your stated inexperience is that you're finding a genuine yes/no appreciation of what you're trying out. I like also that you're thinking around what you might find disappointing and trying to change that with what you have. Once you have a breadth of experience, this will all be lost. I'm kinda thankful that I've forgotton quite a lot means that I can rediscover.

Your instincts are good and I am certainly inclined to agree with your thoughts. I used the Big Ben Stainless a couple of years back while having a mini run through the Lord stable and used with first, a 1950s Tech my notes simply said, "Middling ..."; second, with the KC Gillette (a kinda M23/R89 hybrid), "Perfectly acceptable and entirely forgettable!"; third, in a Bevel (which is a very aggressive razor), "Still sharp enough ... comes into its own in an aggressive razor". I rated 6/10 which in my books means it wasn't bad by any stretch, but not one I'd buy in again but would happily use the rest of the tuck at some point.

Blades from Lord might appear to be the same but under different brands, ranging from ASCO, Big Ben, Crown, Lord, OK, Rainbow, Shark, Silver Star, etc but my initial run told me that they are (like SuperMax or Gillette, who also have a wide range of blades that might appear to be the same) finished differently and so have a very different face-feel when put under the microscope.

Don't write off the Lord house - if you like aggressive, try the Shark. It has a rawness which I like yet utterly abhored by many who call that rough. Those very folks laud, say, the PolSilver for sharpness and smoothness while I might shun that talking of highly irritable shaves. If you're after highly efficient (from Lord), then the Silver Star is one that I'd say is up there with the PermaSharp Super or Personna Platinum Chrome for sharpness and imperceptibly smooth shaves.

 

[donnie_arko]

What I like about your stated inexperience is that you're finding a genuine yes/no appreciation of what you're trying out. I like also that you're thinking around what you might find disappointing and trying to change that with what you have. Once you have a breadth of experience, this will all be lost. I'm kinda thankful that I've forgotton quite a lot means that I can rediscover.

Your instincts are good and I am certainly inclined to agree with your thoughts. I used the Big Ben Stainless a couple of years back while having a mini run through the Lord stable and used with first, a 1950s Tech my notes simply said, "Middling ..."; second, with the KC Gillette (a kinda M23/R89 hybrid), "Perfectly acceptable and entirely forgettable!"; third, in a Bevel (which is a very aggressive razor), "Still sharp enough ... comes into its own in an aggressive razor". I rated 6/10 which in my books means it wasn't bad by any stretch, but not one I'd buy in again but would happily use the rest of the tuck at some point.

Blades from Lord might appear to be the same but under different brands, ranging from ASCO, Big Ben, Crown, Lord, OK, Rainbow, Shark, Silver Star, etc but my initial run told me that they are (like SuperMax or Gillette, who also have a wide range of blades that might appear to be the same) finished differently and so have a very different face-feel when put under the microscope.

Don't write off the Lord house - if you like aggressive, try the Shark. It has a rawness which I like yet utterly abhored by many who call that rough. Those very folks laud, say, the PolSilver for sharpness and smoothness while I might shun that talking of highly irritable shaves. If you're after highly efficient (from Lord), then the Silver Star is one that I'd say is up there with the PermaSharp Super or Personna Platinum Chrome for sharpness and imperceptibly smooth shaves.

The Shark Platinum is my favourite Lord blade I have tried, sharper than the others. Worked beautifully in a Tech.

 

[TobyC]

Big Ben gave me no troubles, just seemed less sharp than I prefer.

 

[Bogeyman]

...third, in a Bevel (which is a very aggressive razor),...

Huh? I thought the Bevel was supposed to be less aggressive than a Tech as many users have stated(?).

 

[pjgh]

Huh? I thought the Bevel was supposed to be less aggressive than a Tech as many users have stated(?).

Certainly not the one I have ... there is practically no blade bend/tension and a mahoosive gap! It's rather like the vintage Wardonia.

 

[Gairdner]

What I like about your stated inexperience is that you're finding a genuine yes/no appreciation of what you're trying out. I like also that you're thinking around what you might find disappointing and trying to change that with what you have. Once you have a breadth of experience, this will all be lost. I'm kinda thankful that I've forgotton quite a lot means that I can rediscover.

Your instincts are good and I am certainly inclined to agree with your thoughts. I used the Big Ben Stainless a couple of years back while having a mini run through the Lord stable and used with first, a 1950s Tech my notes simply said, "Middling ..."; second, with the KC Gillette (a kinda M23/R89 hybrid), "Perfectly acceptable and entirely forgettable!"; third, in a Bevel (which is a very aggressive razor), "Still sharp enough ... comes into its own in an aggressive razor". I rated 6/10 which in my books means it wasn't bad by any stretch, but not one I'd buy in again but would happily use the rest of the tuck at some point.

Blades from Lord might appear to be the same but under different brands, ranging from ASCO, Big Ben, Crown, Lord, OK, Rainbow, Shark, Silver Star, etc but my initial run told me that they are (like SuperMax or Gillette, who also have a wide range of blades that might appear to be the same) finished differently and so have a very different face-feel when put under the microscope.

Don't write off the Lord house - if you like aggressive, try the Shark. It has a rawness which I like yet utterly abhored by many who call that rough. Those very folks laud, say, the PolSilver for sharpness and smoothness while I might shun that talking of highly irritable shaves. If you're after highly efficient (from Lord), then the Silver Star is one that I'd say is up there with the PermaSharp Super or Personna Platinum Chrome for sharpness and imperceptibly smooth shaves.

From your earlier posts regarding the Silver Star and German Personna PC, I decided to try both. They’d been on the horizon for a while but for some reason during my near ten year stretch, I hadn’t yet popped their cherries. Cue an online visit to La Barbiera and a subsequent delivery of both.

Silver Star first and wow, very sharp indeed and surprisingly smooth. Definitely a blade I’ll buy more of and up there with the best I’ve used. I really wasn’t expecting it to to be this good and although I haven’t tested its longevity, the budget price means I’d be delighted with 2 or 3 scrapes.

Moving on to the new production Personna Platinum Chrome, I found this to be a genuine superstar and perhaps my number one blade. Maybe even sharper than the Silver Star and superior to any Super Iridium or Polsilver. Very smooth which I expected given its Israeli predecessor’s reputation in that regard but not combined with such a high sharpness level. I’ll admit to disregarding this blade as many other German DE blades I’ve tried have been mediocre at best. Blades like the Wilkie and Croma Diamant we’re distinctly average but not this fella - 5 excellent shaves and potentially more but I was happy with that.

Huge thanks to @pjgh and yes I’ll pay more attention in future.